The Philippine islands, 1493–1898 (Vol. 33, 1519–1522)

This volume is a critical component of the extensive historical series, The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, a collection that meticulously compiled, translated, and annotated primary source documents to reconstruct the history of the archipelago. Volume 33 begins the publication of Antonio Pigafetta's Relation of the First Voyage Around the World, chronicling the expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan from 1519 to 1522. Pigafetta's narrative is a seminal, firsthand account, valued as the most complete and authentic record of the voyage, detailing the fleet's crossing of the Pacific and its arrival in the islands. The content provides a rich, ethnographic snapshot of the Visayan peoples in the Philippines at the time of initial contact, describing local customs, languages, trade, and political structures. The narrative climaxes with the events of March and April 1521, including the first Mass on Philippine soil, the initial conversions to Christianity in Cebu, and the subsequent engagement with local forces that led to Magellan's death at the Battle of Mactan. This edition is notable for presenting Pigafetta's original Italian manuscript alongside a full English translation, making this indispensable primary source accessible for institutional and historical study of the Philippines' earliest encounters with European nations and the dawn of global exploration.

The book is considered valuable. It is advised that researchers use digital copy rather than physical books for preservation purposes.

APA Citation:

Blair, E. H., & Robertson, J. A. (Eds.). (1906). The Philippine Islands, 1493–1898: Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century (Vol. 33, 1519–1522). The Arthur H. Clark Company.